Ethiopian Airlines to take delivery of 100th aircraft on 5 June

Fast-expanding African carrier Ethiopian Airlines will take delivery of its 100th aircraft on 5 June this year when it receives a Boeing 787-900.

The carrier becomes the first African airline to reach the fleet milestone in the history of the continent. It also has five more Boeing 787-900 and 16 Airbus A350 aircraft on order, among others.

Ethiopian Group chief executive officer, Tewolde GebreMariam said: “It is an immense honour for all of us at Ethiopian to reach the milestone of 100 aircraft.

“It is a continuation of our historical aviation leadership role in Africa and a testimony of the successful implementation of our fast, profitable and sustainable growth plan, Vision 2025.”

Ethiopian operated the first African B767 in 1984, the first B777-200LR in 2010, the first B787-800 Dreamliner, the first B777-200 freighter in 2012, the first A350 in 2016 and the first B787-9 aircraft in 2017. They now operate one of the youngest and most modern 100 aircraft, with an average age of less than five years.

GebreMariam added: “Fleet modernisation and expansion is one of the four critical pillars of our Vision 2025 strategic roadmap, in support of our fast expanding network, which has now reached over 110 international destinations covering five continents.

“Our new and cutting-edge fleet composed of B787s and A350s offer unparalleled on-board comfort to our customers and offer the best possible connections when traveling within Africa and between the continent and the rest of the world.”

This 100 fleet milestone, which was achieved ahead of their Vision 2025 targets, has seen the company revise plans to phase in more aircraft and further expand their network to meet the growing travel needs of the continent and support its economic development and integration by facilitating the flow of investment, trade and tourism.

“We will continue to connect more and more Africans with their fellow citizens of the continent and with their brothers and sisters in the rest of the world to make life better every single day,” GebreMariam said.